Jaune's Time
by Octurn
Summary: An original story taking place after volume two(Parallel to volume 3 should it be released soon) featuring Jaune Arc, and his journey to Manhood as a true hunstman. Also going to have some Jaune x (Ruby). This is rated T, not for what it is right now, but for the violence I know I will work in Later.
1. Chapter 1-His Time

**Hey so this is my first story, and I'm not gonna be shy about it, I'm not a bad storyteller. Hey so this is my first story, and I'm not gonna be shy about it, I'm not a bad storyteller. This, though, is my first fanfiction, and I'm highly open to critic as long as it's positive. With that said, this one is one I'm writing purely because there aren't many out there. This is a pairing of my personal favorite RWBY ship: Jaune x Ruby. Setting: Takes place right after the last episode of season two, begins in the Forest of Forever Fall. Any none main team names are just made up, and won't feature my OC's. All characters are strictly canon, but I might develope my own headcanons onto characters, like Ozpin, in the case of his cane.. **

Throughout the crimson Forest of Forever Fall, the loud clanging of steel could be heard, along with loud shouts and applause. Near the center of the Forest, team JNPR, RWBY, and CRDN were standing in a circle around what could only be described as a ball of fire consuming the fuel it was fed. With two swift motions, Pyrrha cleanly pierced the Ursa's cranium, stowed her spear (but not before cleanly flicking the Ursa's blood off), and walked back into the circle with that super model grace she was known for. Pyrrha approached her nervous-looking companion, Jaune, and smiled as she said, "There's nothing to worry about, Jaune! You've trained hard, just remember what you've learned!" She giggled a bit and added, "Just look at Nora!" She pointed at the spunky redhead zooming around Lie Ren, chattering away about some dream she'd had and how pumped she was to show off her skills, as Lie Ren just smiled at his endearing companion.

"T-That's different! Nora can Literally smash boulders in half with.. Uh.." Jaune stuttered, "Her eyelashes!" Jaune said, exaggeratedly pointing to his own, rather long lashes.

Pyrrha only smiled and sighed, "Jaune, you can't let fear take the better of you! Remember the last time we were here! You bested that demon before, and I know that you are definitely strong enough to do it now!" Pyrrha grinned and added,"... Besides, if you don't, Ren isn't gonna make you pancakes for the Next month." All she had to Give Ren a glance and he knew exactly what was happening, and Pyrrha could see him nodding between Nora dashing inbetween them.

"That's just not fair!" Jaune whined.

Pyrrha only turned and walked back over to Ren, taking her place in the circle, and beginning to chat with the Asgardian that was Nora. Jaune then walked nervously to the center where Ozpin greeted him with a tilt of his glasses. No sooner did old Ozpin step out of the circle's center than did a large Beowulf hop in, soaring over team CRDN to reach the center, which had been sprayed with the heavy concentrate of the sweet tree sap of the forest, to which grimm so easily flocked to. Jaune tensed up and gripped his sword, promptly drawing his family sword, flipping his scabbard up, and extending it, becoming one Knight in not-quite-so-shining armor. Plus a sheild. Jaune began by charging the beast, ducking below it's swipes and slashing at it wildly. Ozpin simply took notes on Jaune's... less than perfect performance. With every slash he made, and every blow he deflected, Jaune grew tired, and he couldn't block forever. In fact, he couldn't go much more than one more blow before the Beowulf would pierce his defenses. The beowulf quickly launched itself at Jaune, and knocked away his shield, leaving Jaune helpless. with the Beowolfe's next strike, Jaune was sent sprawling across the forest floow. The Beowulf's fangs came down quickly, and everything went black as its razor sharp teeth bore into Jaune shoulder through his armor. Jaune could hear a struggle around him, and his friends' voices. Mostly shouting, and gunfire. A few seconds went by and he heard Goodwitch yell, "Sir, this grimm is abnormal! my dust isn't doing anyhting to it!"

He heard a shriek, and then a shout from Yang, "Ruby! Agh!" And then a thud, the sound of a body falling to the floor.

Jaune struggled to force open his eyes, pushing himself up with every bit of his strength. What he saw was horrifying, and amazing. Ruby and yang were strewn across the ground, and it seemed like the red from Ruby's cape had spread all over her and Yang. Off to the side, Weiss seemed to be rocovering from a blow that had launched her into the tree, hitting its base, hard. Blake and Pyrrha were scratched up, but seemed to not have retained serious injury. Then there was Professor Oszpin and . Jaune had never seen anything like it. Goodwitch was waving her wick fluidly and wildly, manuevering chunks of the earth itself around her, and attacking the monumentous grimm, which seemed to have tripled in size, now towering far above the burning red treetops. Unfortunatly, after less than thirty seconds, it was clear that Glynda was fighting a losing battle, and though Blake, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora were doing their best to help out (Team CRDN naturally having run away), they could not best the beast. Ozpin knew this, and decided to make his move. Then they witnessed something utterly astounding: Ozpin fighting. With a flick, Ozpin whipped his cane up, and the blade underneath was revealed, the sheath having been flung off with such force that it lodged itself into a nearby tree. The fight wouldn't take long. Ozpin had this look in his eye. It wasn't anger, rage, or desparity. It was emptiness. His eyes seemed to have lost color, but before Jaune could catch a proper glance, Ozpin put his small glass back into place, and walked up to the monstrous Beowulf. He sighed deeply and said, "It'd be wise of you to leave us. Right now"

The Beowulf snarled at Ozpin, slashing at him, and missing by hairs. Ozpin sighed once again, and simply added, "You asked for it, then." .

To watch this relatively old man fight was strange. He moved like someone of Jaune's age, though obviously not Jaune himself. His movements were fluid, but sharp, like the end of a curved dagger. Jaune was so engrossed in this simple motion, that he didn't even realize that the Beowulf had been beheaded, and Ozpin had his sheath back by the time Jaune had gotten to his knees. He was fast. Faster than Ruby, and with a grace that Weiss would have been jealous of. He was a true Huntsman.

Finally, after he realized the grimm was out of the equation, Jaune immediantly tried to stand up and make his way to Ruby and Yang, but fatigue grabbed him him, and everything went black as he fell toward the ground.

**Short first chapter I know, but I'll make em longer as I progress, besides, I'm writng this at 2 am on a whim. **


	2. Chapter 2- Realization

**Wow I got some followers right off the bat huh? Great! I'm glad you guys like what I write, and hope you keep liking what I write. So without further ado, here comes chapter two~! Bit of fore-info though, In my little AU, the ages work something like this: Ruby is the youngest, at 15, and everyone else is 17, with Ren and Pyrrha being 18. Ozpin is 40 something, glynda is 38, but they make old people jokes a lot to annoy them a bit, really only offending Glynda.**

Jaune woke up to a white ceiling, and some voices murmuring in the background. Slowly, he gave his best effort to sit up. "Ughh, what in Vaccuo just happened?" He asked.

"He's awake!" Screamed a shrill voice.

"Shh! Nora, he just woke up." A calm voice replied.

"Wha-?" Jaune tried to speak but was immediantly forced to clasp his hands to his head in great pain. "Agh!"

"Jaune! You just woke up, you still need rest!" Said Ren, trying to push him back down into the bed.

"R-Ren?" Jaune asked groggily "Where's everybody else?"

"Who do you mean Jaune?" Nora asked.

"B-Back at the forest, everyone was-" Jaune started.

Nora cut him off, "Ohhhh! I see, don't worry about it! Everybody's just fine."

Ren stepped in by adding, "Ruby suffered a minor gash, but at the time, lost too much blood, and fainted. She's fine now. Yang just suffered a minor concussion. Both of them were lucky enough to be out of the hospital within two days. Everyone else just had minor bumps and-"

"Wait, two days? Just how long have I been out? And where's Pyrrha? Not a very complete welcoming party." Jaune interrupted.

Ren smiled a bit, glad that Jaune was still his Falsely-Confident self. "You've been out for four days. Your wounds were pretty serious, but they're healing well, and you've still got all your limbs. Although the grimm _did___leave a mark." Ren lifted up a mirror and Jaune's shirt, displaying a large scar running two feet up his torso. It'd been stitched shut. "Doctor says it won't be going away. Sorry Jaune."

Jaune just smiled. "Sorry? I'm even cooler now! Even got the badass scar to prove it!" Jaune remarked. "But wait.. you never told me where Pyrrha is."

Ren's head picked up as he said, "Oh yeah! She should be happy to see you, she's been with Ruby for the past few days."

"With Ruby? But why?" Jaune asked, wondering what possible reason there could be so that the two strongest girls he knew would be meeting up at a time like this.

Ren only laughed. "Often fools are the luckiest of men," He said wisely, "Proverbs aside, those two were really worried about you, and Ruby's only fifteen, so Pyrrha was comforting her. "

"Oh, I see. I should go tell them I'm okay." Jaune responded.

"Probably. And here, take these pills. They should calm your headache. You want to be in top condition so they don't worry any more than they already have."

"Right. I know how Ruby feels anyways. It's a lot of stress."

"The leadership?"

"That and the age."

"Oh yeah, sometimes I forget you're still sixteen, Jaune," Ren chuckled, "You pull it off well."

Jaune went a bit red, "Jeez."

Ren replied, "Well look on the bright side Jaune. Since I'm eighteen, I can get you those special-"

"Still here!" Nora said, completely beet red.

Lie Ren laughed, but Jaune went even more red as he hopped out of bed. "Anyway," He said, "I've gotta go tell everybody I'm better now. See ya later!" and with that, Jaune ran out the door.

"How long 'till he realizes he's still in his medical gown which only covers about 45% of his body?" Nora asked.

They heard some girls shreking outside. "I'm sure he's realized."

*Later, after Jaune had rested for a while and changed.*

Jaune walked up to the team JNPR door, and he heard crying inside. Well, it was crying at first, then dulled out to a sort of whimpering. Jaune put his ear to the door, revealing his less-than-perfect morals. "It's okay Ruby, we're all worried about him." He heard Pyrrha say.

"What if he doesn't wake up? I-I should've helped, I c-could've helped him!" Ruby stuttered.

"If anything, it was my fault, as his mentor. I simply stood there. Letting my leader, and someone who could be my brother get hurt so badly."

Hearing that, Jaune's heart stooped a little. He'd always hoped there'd been something there with Pyrrha. Guess not. At least he wasn't expecting too much, and she could still teach him. Then again, small disappointment aside, Jaune was in for quite the surprise.

"P-Pyrrha?" Ruby asked.

"What is it Ruby?"

"This might sound a bit.. well, dumb.. But, I really care about Jaune... *hic* a-and, he was the first person I met here... *hic* and he w-was s-so nice to m-me..." She paused to sniffle and blow her nose, her cheeks took the color of her name, rosy red, "I t-think I love him"

With that, Jaune stepped away from the door and fell cleanly on his butt. "Wha-what?"

He quickly rushed back up to the door to hear more.

"Ruby, is that really how you feel? It could just be the emotions, the heat of the moment, you know?"

"N-No.. see... I've felt it for a while. I-I k-know he's a b-bit nerdy, and kinda w-weak... b-but I really began to feel something for h-him over time... I w-was gonna tell Y-yang but I was afraid she'd make fun of m-me. B-But since t-this happened, I felt like I needed t-to tell someone. What if n-next time... he doesn't.." Ruby began to cry even harder.

Jaune's hand was firmly clasped on the doorknob, but he couldn't do it. He just couldn't. Not now. He needed time to think. And not just about Ruby's.. confession.

*Jaune slept on the roof that night. The next day, once Jaune was back in fighting form.*

Jaune had rested, and waited for a day. that should've been enough... right? He'd been asleep for four, anyways. He couldn't wait any longer. Jaune looked up at the tower, whose point was where Beacon's headmaster, Ozpin, resided. Jaune had realized something... Important. He'd been focused on the wrong thing. Hearing Ruby talk about something so... honest, had shaken him in the right way. Jaune realized that confidence wasn't what he needed. He already had people around him who loved him, so it was time to do what he had come here to do. As he climbed the tower he remembered the words Ruby spoke, as excited as he was to hear a confession of love come out of her mouth. She'd said other things too. He _was_ weak. If only he was stronger. He wouldn't have gotten hurt. He felt his fist clench. He wouldn't have made Ruby or Pyrrha cry. That sent him over the edge. He wouldn't let it happen again. Slowly he opened Ozpin's door. He remembered the fight in the forest. And Ozpin. The way he moved. His power. If he had that power, he knew he'd be able to make sure that nobody ever had to cry over him again. He felt pathetic, and that was going to end here. It was his time now. He opened the door to see Ozpin looking straight at him, his aura having let him know Jaune was coming in. Glynda watched carefully. "So, , why have you come here?"

Jaune took a breath, "Sir, with all due respect, I think you know why I'm here."

Ozpin drew his blade from his cane. "Then let us begin."

**Ha! How was that for a chapter two! I think it was good. Hope it satisfies some people. Anyways, with the basic setting out of the way, the real adventure begins now. Stay tuned!**

**P.S. Please notify of any spelling errors I make. I know how bad it can be to be reading a fic, and the mood is ruined buy wpresd instead of Whispered. So just shoot me a quick PM and I'll fix it right up. Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3- The truth

**Annnnd more follows! You guys make me happy. It's been brought to my attention that my paragraphs are too short. I'd like to write this off as a lack of time, but as writer I cannot simply make excuses for myself. This being said, this chapter will be released the friday before I go on vacation. On said vacation, I should have some writing time, but I also intend to get some other things done, so I make no promises on that level. Anyways, this is the first time I've worked on a chapter for more than an hour late at night, so it'll be longer and hopefully better.**

*It has been three days since Jaune and Ozpin met in central tower*

Jaune was walking alone in Beacon's central plaza, rubbing his temples and groaning. It was already past midnight! He needed to get back soon or he'd never get enough sleep to do well in Port's class tomorrow. They were doing monster duels, but Jaune was way too sore to actually, well, fight. Looks like he had another remedial essay waiting for him. Moaning audibly, the young Arc worked his way back up the stairs to his dorm. The elevator made so much noise that using it at this time of night would instantaneously turn everyone in the first year into Jaune-Hating zombies. With everything else that was going on, he didn't really need any more stress. With a tired gait, he managed to reach his doorknob. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to slip into bed as quietly as he had hoped. When he opened it up, he saw all of his friends lined up and waiting fir him, like they had something to say, like... like an intervention.

"Uh, guys?" Jaune asked, "What's up?"

Pyrrha was the first to stand up and stare Jaune in the eye. "Jaune, have a seat, we think it'd be best to have a talk."

"I'd love to take a seat," Jaune said pacingly, "On my bed. Or... you know, in my bed." Jaune paused, hoping they caught on, "Asleep."

Lie Ren spoke up, " Listen Jaune, we're your friends. We need to know what's been happening with you."

"What do you mean?" Jaune replied.

This time Nora spoke up, "Jaune, -"

Yang cut in, "Listen Arc, don't fuck with us okay? You know exactly what we mean! Coming home late, walking around like a zombie all day, not to mention it looks like you got on the bad side of a pro-boxer!"

Jaune sighed deeply as he looked at his friends, his glance crossing by each of their faces until he reached Ruby's. She wasn't looking at him. Did she know he'd seen? He went red for a second, but quickly snapped out of it, remembering why he'd even done this in the first place. "Listen... It's really late, can't we just-"

"No we can't Jaune. None of us are leaving until you tell us exactly where you've been going," Said Pyrrha.

Jaune felt blood rushing to his head and took a breath. "Listen, you guys" He signaled at team RWBY, though mainly Yang and Ruby, as Weiss and Blake looked... less than interested in him, "I can't tell you what to do, but as the leader of this team, I've got to draw the line here. I have my reasons, but it won't change anything about this team okay? I promise."

Pyrrha only sighed, while Lie Ren shook his head. "We're not leaving," Nora piped up.

"And I really can't afford to fail Port's class," Jaune retorted. With that he stood up and made a motion toward the door, but he was blocked by a scythe and a giant, grenade-launching warhammer.

"Jaune. Tell us. Now." Nora demanded.

Jaune sighed heavily. "Fine, but not... not everyone. Everyone non-JNPR, out, please." Jaune took a breath, was it really okay?Well, there was only one way to find out. Drawing his breath, he said, "Except for Ruby."

"Jaune..." Ruby said, not expecting him to include her in such a private matter.

Weiss and Blake left without saying a word. Jaune had figured they would. They didn't really help out with Cardin, and weren't the best of friends, so he didn't expect much. Yang was reluctant to leave, being the big-sisterly type, and a relatively close friend to Jaune, but he just didn't feel right with her here. She did raise him an inquisitive eyebrow as she left, but she didn't say anything.

"Jaune, can you..?" Pyrrha, started.

"Well I guess I should get it over with right?' Jaune chuckled awkwardly, trying to lighten the situation. Unfortunately, that just wouldn't cut it this time, and he knew it. "I've.. I've been training, " He siad nervously.

"Training?" Asked Nora, "Looks more like you're just getting beat up, Jaune."

Jaune shook his head, "I thought that too... at first."

Everyone looked at him quizically until he responded with, "Well... Look," Jaune took a deep breath and put forth a bit of strain, and his snow-white aura slowly surrounded his body, and slowly covered up every wound, bruise, or even little red mark that graced his body.

Everyone looked surprised. Although Nora just looked confused. Pyrrha was the first to ask, "Jaune... how? You've improved... well... almost unbelievably in only three days! ...But, how?"

"Well... I can't really tell anybody about that part. I made a promise not to, and I intend to keep it."

They all nodded. At least he had gained enough of their respect for them to trust him here. And also Ozpin wouldn't seperate his head from his body. That's always a plus. Ruby's voice sqeaked out, seeming much smaller than her normal boisterous attitude, asking the question everyone was thinking, "Jaune... why're you doing this?"

He knew it had been coming. "Ruby.." Jaune said, "I... I heard what you and Pyrrha were talking about the other night."

It took Ruby a second, but she still got it. "Wait... You couldn't mean-" She really lived up to the name Ruby as she turned a bright shade of red, "Oh no! How-I-I, ohhhh..." Ruby groaned, putting her face in between her hands and falling onto the bed.

"And aside from... other, things you said," Ruby turned a darker shade of red, but Jaune pressed on, "You were right. I'm weak. I made you guys cry. I'm ready to take anything, to do whatever it takes to become stronger! " Jaune could feel his grip tightening on nothing, "I can't let anybody shed tears because of me. I won't let it happen again. I'm sorry."

Without warning, Ruby walked out of the room silently, her eyes avoiding Jaune. "Ah!" Jaune tried to stop her, putting his hand out in front of her, but as he saw her face, he slowly let it drop, and she left.

Pyrrha just closed the door. "She's just conflicted Jaune. And young too."

Jaune could only nod.

Everyone was a bit surprised at Jaune's resolution. His determination. They hadn't known him for that, except for Pyrrha, who had been smiling now, pride filling her eyes. "Jaune. We'd like to support you in this, but... well, we can't just keep going like this. You can't keep coming home all beat up, and tired, late at night. It's affecting your grades, and soon it'll affect your missions too." Lie Ren said.

"That's right!" Nora squeaked, "I don't know who this guy is, training you, but you know what I do to people who hurt my friends!" She finished, tapped her legs.

Jaune smiled at his teammate's endearing attitude, "Thanks, Nora."

Pyrrha came up to him and gave him a long hug, she smelled like a light perfume he couldn't quite place, but he didn't care, he was just glad that things seemed to be slowing down. Pyrrha spoke, "We're your friends Jaune. Don't ever run from us. Okay?"

Jaune could only nod, his fatigue finally getting the better of him, in fact he nearly fell out of his chair. Team JNPR laughed,and even as they stopped they wore large smiles on their faces. Same old Jaune. Some things never changed, and that was okay. "Come on, then. It's long past lights out, and the Goodwitch'll slaughter us if she knows we're still up." Ren said, chuckling.

With that, they hit the lights and went to their respictive beds. Jaune slept well, but his dreams were more active than ever. He saw the Beowolf, stalking him, but his friends were there, fighitng alongside him. He saw himself, fighting Ozpin, could he ever become strong enough to be a real huntsman? Finally he saw Ruby. She looked like she always did, happy, smiling, with a trace of something else. She also had a beauty about her, that he hadn't really noticed before...

Jaune woke up the next day, feeling refreshed. That'd been the best sleep he'd been able to take since he'd been pinned by the Beowolf a few days ago. As he went through the normal wake-up procedure (Stretching, yawning, etc) Jaune noticed something that was off. IT WAS PROBABLY THE FACT THAT IT WAS TWO IN THE AFTERNOON. Jaune panicked, scrambling around for his clothes and accidentally putting his pants on his head thinking it was his shirt. As he fumbled around, he noticed Pyrrha sitting quietly in the corner of the room, giggling. Jaune stopped, "Pyrrha! Why didn't you wake me, it's alread-"

"Relax Jaune!" Pyrrha said, "The team decided you needed some rest. We've told Professor Port that you're injured, so don't worry. Get some more sleep." Pyrrha pushed Jaune into bed.

"Pyrrha... Thank you guys, really." Jaune smiled widely, "I did need more than just forty winks."

Pyrrha smiled, "Yes, and tomorrow is Saturday, so no need to worry about getting up early then."

Jaune grinned, happy to have such kind teamma- friends. Such kind friends. "How's Ruby?" Jaune asked, remembering the little red fireball.

"She's fine, she even came in here earlier to visit you, but she didn't want to wake you up."

"Sounds like her. I should go visit her." Jaune motioned to get up but Pyrrha pushed him down again.

"You still need some sleepl. I'll have her come by later, okay?"

"Can I at least take these pants off of my head?"

Pyrrha simply ripped off the pants with a chuckle, and left Jaune to sleep. It didn't take long before he fell under again.

Most guys would think themselves to be pretty lucky to wake up to a pretty young girl sitting on their bedside, but Jaune was just flustered. As he woke up, Ruby quickly hopped into the adjacent chair, although it seemed she'd been rather close to Jaune. She was, once again, red faced, although this time Jaune had more than a blush on his face too. "Ruby!" Jaune said in surprise, "Uh, um, Hi!"

"Oh, uh, yeah, hi!" Ruby said awkwardly in response.

There was an uncomfortable moment of silence before Jaune decided to speak. "Ruby, about-"

"JanIminlovwityou!" Ruby spit out so fast that Jaune couldn't tell if she was speaking english.

"Whoahoho, Ruby, what are you saying? Speak slowly please."

Ruby's breath was audible. "Okay," She said shakily, "J-Jaune. I-I am... Well, I am.."

"Maaaybe a bit faster."

Ruby took one more breath. This time she had her normal look of resolve. "Jaune." She took his hand gently, "I think I'm in love with you. " They were inches apart, locked in each others gaze, and Jaune wanted to look away, but he just couldn't. Ruby's eyes really were stunning. "If it's not love..." She continued, "It's something pretty close."

Jaune began to inch forward and their faces were less than two inches away. As the drew in, Jaune dipped his head, and their foreheads touched gently. "Ruby... Don't get me wrong, you're amazing, and beautiful, but I've never been in a relationship. I couldn't even tell you felt anything for me at all. I just don't know..."

"Jaune," Ruby took Jaune's hand and looked away, small tears dripping from her eyes, "I understand."

Jaune saw her tears and spoke, "No... that's not what I meant. Ruby, I'll give it a chance. This. Us. I 'd love to be with you. I just don't want to let you down." Jaune's head was lowered, his eyes to the ground. He'd started crying too.

"Jaune... what I said-"

"Don't say it. You were right. But don't worry, I will get stronger. Then you can be proud of a guy like me." Jaune smiled through the tears.

Ruby's face was wet and puffy, but in the cute way that only she could pull off. J-Jaune..."

There were no fireworks. There was no music in the background. It wasn't at a castle at midnight. There wasn't any of that. Even still, Jaune and Ruby's first kiss was more than petty words could ever hope to describe.

**Whew, welp that's chapter 3. How'd you guys like it? A lot? Hope so. It is pretty late as I finish this, so I hope no mistakes were made that weren't caught. With that said, I hope you enjoyed Chapter 3 and are looking forward to chapter 4! Also, special thanks to my editor MeTheAlmightyChickenLord! If it wasn't for him, there would be a lot of typos. See you again at the end of the next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4- Daily thoughts

**WELL I'M BACK. Sorry that I've taken so long. AP season is coming around, and school hasn't been kind to me. I'm mid-spring break right now, and I'm seeing more people follow this story, and I can't become that one person who's fic hasn't updated in years, when people wanna read it! So thank you guys, and like always, my editor, "MeTheAlmightyChickenLord", he's been incredibly helpful and patient. WIthout further ado, a coke in hand as I type, Chapter 4.**

It'd been only a few days since the kiss, and It had certainly left a lasting impression on both of them, and while in the moment, that kiss had been, well, everything Jaune (and Ruby, of course,) could've hoped for, and more, it wasn't that easy to recover from. They never tell you, in fairy tales, what exactly happens after the "Happily Ever After Kiss". Jaune certainly didn't know what to do that night either...

_Jaune and Ruby pulled apart slowly. There was a slight pause as they each took in everything about each other, the smallest details. It was clarity, and then, realization. Ruby turned a shade of red brighter than her iconic cape, and tripped over herself as she shot out of the room at the breakneck speed only she could achieve. Jaune stood, ready to chase after her, but the moment he stepped out into the carpeted red hallways, did the other members of team RWBY reveal their presence to him, and harshly as well. Their expressions alone offerred the juxtaposition that was uncommon in most teams. Yang, the natural older sister, looked furious, and ready to throw Jaune out the window, which he knew she would... Out the window, into a car, which would then drive off of a cliff. Weiss had an expression that Jaune found rather amusing. She looked rather uninterested, but she also put on a face that was somewhat compassionate. She probably wasn't so close to Ruby yet that she knew whether to care. He might've chuckled, if Blake's face hadn't been so terrifying. They say a cornered animal is the most dangerous kind, but anyone who said that had never met blake. To anyone else, the hand on her blade might've looked melodramatic, but team RWBY really was just that crazy... It took a few hours, but Jaune managed to keep his face (and balls, from the way Yang looked at him)._

Still, even after her entire team talked to her, Ruby still could not face Jaune. It was one of those time where her iredeemable stubborness shone through. To be perfectly honest, he didn't mind. It wasn't that he hated Ruby, and he really did want to try, with her, but he felt incredibly conflicted. He hadn't even seen Ruby in that light until he knew. He'd thought about it sure, but she, like evryone else, seemed out of his league. Who knows? Maybe he did feel something for her before. Maybe not. Regardless, he did now. Whenever Jaune saw Ruby, he was met with the opposite of what Ruby was sure to be feeling now. He always felt happy seeing her, and the time they spent together was fun, but now, she'd shut herself out, away from him. She hardly looked at him. It's not like he could tell what she was thinking, but... It felt so different, so different from the Ruby he already knew, and the one he... well, the one he knew. He didn't like it, he missed the old, boisterous Ruby, constantly cracking jokes and doodling during class. Jaune didn't even know how to feel at this point. He felt lonely, guilty, even. He felt like if he hadn't been such a snoop, Ruby wouldn't be like this. To not know how someone feels about you is hell, but to not know how you feel about yourself is a fate far worse. It didn't quite help that he was absolutely clueless about women. Jaune only had the advice his father had given him before he left, and good old dad certainly didn't cover this. He thought that he and Ruby were now involved Romantically, but maybe, at the same time, they weren't? Nobody knew, not even them.

Jaune woke up early the next morning, but not because he wanted to. Lately, his body just kept telling him that he neded to be awake, and it was relentless. At this point, he just incorporated it into his daily routine. He'd observe everything, in the orange-tinted light of dawn. Ren slept as gracefully as he did while awake. Nora tended to snor loudly, something that made everyone glad that the campus store sold earplugs. Pyrrha, on the other hand, slept with the sheets covering he from her shoulders down, her toes just barely peeking out from under the covers.. It was surprisingly adorable. Jaune himself just lay sprawled over his bed, some sheets covering him, some not. He liked it that way. Sometimes he just enjoyed lying awake and watch the clock on the wall tick on, and on...

The morning passed as quickly as it normally did, that is to say, very slowly. Everyone was in high spirits today, luckily. Nora was just finishing one of her stories when Jaune sat down with them for breakfast. "...And so I threw him off the bridge."

Ren sighed dutifully, "Nora, you can't just _throw_ people off bridges!"

"Well of course not, silly!" Nora giggled cheerfully, "That's why I broke his legs _first_!"

Ren just put his head down.

"What's wrong Reeeen? Did you not sleep well?"

Pyrrha just chuckled silently, remaining her graceful self. Jaune looked over to the table across from theirs. It looked like team RWBY had an early breakfast. Figured. They both knew that they'd have to face each other eventually, but Jaune wasn't too keen on it yet either. That morning, Jaune was able to eat breakfast happily with his teammates. As the days had gone by, he'd learned to cope with his emotions, and he was almost able to act normal again. Yet, he still felt frustrated- angry even. Still, Jaune knew better than to let this affect him. He couldn't let it bother him any more. Everyday, his team was counting on him as their leader, and strategist. He knwe that he wasn't the type to ever forgive himself if anything happened to them, and lately, Oobleck, Port, and Goodwitch kept having "Surprise Fieldtrips". Vigilance training, which Jaune would not let himeself fail.

Jaune had only attented his training sessions with Ozpin a few times before, only practicing basic sword play and shield work. Ozpin had constantly promised Jaune he'd grow stronger, and Jaune trusted Ozpin, after all, he had no reason not to. It was just that... He was growing impatient. Day after day passed, but things never changed. Cardin picked on him (Although more secretively since Pyrrha had gotten involved), he lost fights, and failed tests. He knew just what he was: A lovable idiot. He hated it. Jaune always thought to himself, "My father, grandfather, they were so cool... so strong..Can Professor Ozpin really teach me to be even halfway decent? DO I even have that in me? And what about him? I hardly even know what he can do." The little bit of Ozpin's fighting that he'd seen was so quick, he couldn't take it in. It'd been... Like the end of a curved dagger...

"Hey... Ren," Jaune whispered to his right.

"Yeah?" Ren Whispered back.

"Do think Professor Ozpin has a semblance?"

"Don't be stupid Jaune. All humans have Aura, and those who train can achieve semblance. Ozpin's very obviously trained."

"Yeah but... Man, he took down that beowolf like nothing!"

"That still? Sure, but that just means he's good, he's still human."

"You think so?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Maybe..."

"Jaune, you can't honestly expect me to believe that Ozpin isn't human."

"...But,"

"Jaune.:

"Look-"

"GENTLEMEN."

Professor Oobleck called them from the front of the room. Care to explain what's so incredibly important that you must hold such an extensive conversation over it in my class? He waited. Neither Jaune or Ren spoke, naturally. "Well if no one tells me in the next three seconds, the both of you can expect two weeks' detention!"

"Weeellll, Jaune and Ren were talking about how maybe the Headmaster isn't human! Maybe he's not, who knows, but that's what they were talkin' about, oooo maybe he's a snake- no- A lizard person! It explains everything! They're here!"

Professor Oobleck looked stunned. He had been out-hypered. Nora stood from behind the black-and-blonde duo and had been happy to pipe up what they'd been talking about in the least revealing way possible while also being completely ridiculous. Really something only she could do without ruining everything completely.

"R-Right, well, I can assure you the Headmaster is human. Silly children. Lizard people went extinct thousands of years ago."

Oobleck went on with his lesson.

Class ended and Jaune and Ren tussled with that argument a bit more before finally giving up and heading to their next class: Tactical Offense 101: Mission strategy and how to apply the chalkboard to the battlefield...

The sun was just setting when Jaune left his dorm. Everyone knew he was leaving, yet they all pretended not to notice. That's what Jaune like about his team. They were there for him when they knew he needed someone to be there for him, but when he had to do something alone. They let him. He'd have to pay them back one day. And he would, by leading them to be the best platoon there was. Better than RWBY, maybe they'd even surpass team CFVY

He kept that thought heavy in his heart as he walked up the steps to Ozpin's office. It was a long trek, but it'd gotten easier. Besides, each time he came up here, the craftsmanship on the doors, on the walls, astounded him. It was a beautiful combination of Ivory and Jade, with steel and tech incorporated to accent the traditional Jewels. It was simply amazing. There wasn't much else to say, although Jaune had a sneaking suspiscion he knew where the donations to the School's "Art" department went. (Since when does a school for training Hunstmen and Huntresses do arts and crafts?) Jaune tightly gripped the grey-tinted jade doorknob. It had always been nerve wrecking, because he never knew just what the Headmaster had going on in his crazy skull. Especially when it came to what he'd make Jaune do. But, his teaching stood, and one thing Jaune had learnedfrom Ozpin was to be a bit more reckless. Just say screw it, and barge right it. So that's exactly what he did.

**Okay wow, I started this at midnight, now it's 4:30 am. Dang. Well, sorry it took so long for me to get back to this keyboard, and no doubt I'm rusty, so I hope everyone can bear with me till I get my bearings. The story progresses. I'll be honest, I hadn't intended this story to be anything more than a JaunexRuby ship thingy, but as I wrote I saw potential to give some depth to my favorite character, even if it's only a fic. Thanks again to my amazing editor MetheAlmightyChickenLord, for catching my constant typos, miscapitalizations, and misspellings. I hope you enjoy the story as well!**


	5. Chapter 5-Her way

**Cue the sith music cuz I´m back baby, or was that terminator? Well I haven't seen any of those movies in a few years so do forgive my errors. Anyways, sorry for my leave of absence, In addition to my usally weekish between uploads, I've just recently finished with finals, and god damn did that take its toll, so thanks for understanding, and my editor for checking up on me. Without further ado, let's start Chapter 5, of Jaune's Time.**

"Look, If you just think about it-"

"It makes even less sense."

"But what's so weird about it?"

"Listen Jaune, no matter how strong he is, or how 'mysterious' he might be, Ozpin is NOT a lizard person!"

"Lizalfos, Ren, Lizalfos."

"Okay now you're just breaching copyright."

"Pfft, Relaaax, and just consider-" Jaune was interrupted by the miraculously times schoolbell, blaring that airhorn-like noisethat everyone and their mother hated. "Sorry Jaune!" Ren said over the bell, "You can tell me all about it after GS."

"Fine. But I still he think he is one."

"Think whatever you want Jaune, free country."

With that, the pair headed off toward their class on Grimm Sociology. As Jaune took his seat near the upper back he started losing himself in the lesson. A rare occurence for Jaune, but one that happened all the same. He was actually very interested in the Grimm. He wondered how they thought, how they bred, and most specifically, what motivated them. He wondered what he himself was motivated by, as well.

"The Grimm are a dark species, put forth by hatred, wrought by terror, and all the little feelings that drove humans together." Professor Oobleck went in his overly hyper, but intriguing voice," This is always important to remember. Some Grimm, massive ones, ancients, have grown so old, that they realize, they learn, to associate with humankind will always mean death, whether for us, or for them. This leads us to believe, at least, some of us, that Grimm do have minds, or rather, are able to develope them." The Professor had a longing glint in his eyes, and he continued, " Who knows, maybe one day, we can coexist. But for now, that remains a lonely impossibility."

Jaune's hand rose into the air, maybe Oobleck just might understand where he was coming from. Jaune felt it, maybe their reason for interest in the Grimm wasn't the same, but Oobleck himself knew so much about them, and obviously cared, maybe he knew. There wasn't any reason not to ask anyways. "Ahh yes, Jaune, finally, do you wish to contribute to the lesson?"

"Er, not exactly professor."

"I see."

"Yeah, see, I had, well I had a question."

Oobleck looked surprised. Jaune was getting pitiful grades in most of his classes, all except this one, which he was acing. Thisaside, he never really talked in any of his classes, except a few discrepancies with team RWBY.

"Really now? Alright then, ask away."

"Ah, thank you Professor. See, I was just wondering what exactly... you know, motivates them."

"Who?"

"...The Grimm, sir."

"Ah yes, the Grimm. The Grimm, the Grimm, the Grimm." Oobleck tapped his chin repeatedly, " Motivates them to do what exactly?"

"I don't know, to live I guess."

Oobleck's eyes, already foggy, nearly glazed over as he spoke, "Oh. Well, Jaune, that's something modern science hasn't quite figured out yet. They survive for survival's sake, like all animals, and live amongst themselves in rather quiet harmony. But, unlike the animals which they seem to mirror, we become an outlier to them. If you run into a bear in the forest, it'll either attack for food or fear, or run away. If you run into a Grimm, it'll cut you up and leave you to rot. The Grimm are still mysteries to us, I'm afraid. Their patterns are irregular, and they don't seem to have a way of breeding, but, all the same, they must breed, as we see increases in their population on a regular basis. Jaune, I have no clue what motivates them to do as they do, but if I had to put a wager on it, I'd say that it looks like anger. Like they're angry at us, but we don't know why. " Oobleck let out a deep sigh before returning to the quicksilver tone of voice he was known for.

"Sorry about that, first time you've spoken in this class, and I couldn't even answer your question."

"No, thank you, it's alright, I've learned a lot" Jaune said through a bitter taste in his mouth.

The class period went on for a while, but Jaune's mind lingered on that question still. Not to be misunderstood though. Jaune had no sympathy for the Grimm, nor was he as interested in them as Oobleck was. But after that encounter with that beowolf, he still had to wonder... why? Jaune remembered it well, as if anyone could forget, but, above it all, the look in the beast's eyes as it charged. "Oobleck hit the nail on the head," Jaune whispered.

"Did I hear my name?" The professor said, zooming to the front of the class.

Everyone looked at Jaune. "Ah, sorry, just talking to myself!" Jaune said nervously.

"Something about me?"

"N-no sir."

"Good, I do like a good rumor, and would be very upset if one was going around without me knowing!" The professor ended on that beat, and went back to his desk to let everyone continue the study hall portion of the class. That lasted for a few minutes before the bell rang, and the students formed the rushing wave that could only be known as a school's hallways. After navigating his way through the students clogging the halls, Jaune made it to the last class of the day, and for him, the worst one: The Art of Battle. This class was mandatory for all first year students, or any students who had yet to complete a mission without a professor accompanying them. Every other day Jaune had to walk in here and willing get his ass beaten by whoever he was fighting that day. It was always a joy to look up at the board and wish he were dead. Luckily unless it was a free practice day, it was a different person every time, and it was a huge class of over 100, at this point he might have a chance, thanks to Pyrrha. So far, he'd fought everyone from Cardin's team, Ren, Pyrrha, Nora, Yang, Blake, Weiss (That one just hurt), and at least 20 other people he didn't really know. As Jaune walked into the tall, high-walled room, he raised his eyes fearfully to see- Oh no. Jaune went pale, so today either he was going to get his ass kicked, or just feel really, really bad. Clenching his free hand, Jaune drew his sword and walked into Arena four. The arenas were designed to keep aura levels at bare minimum 1%, though at that point, medical attention would've been necessary. There were 10 of them, all for simoultaneous battling between two partners. At first glance they just looked like grey felt clashing with the beige floor, but most students knew that beneath them were literally tons of wiring and metal. When Jaune stepped into the arena's boundaries, he felt the usual energy rush as any aura that may have been depleted during the day was restored. Though, no matter how amazing the arena was, it couldn't get rid of the hole in Jaune's stomach as the human hurricane with silver eyes walked onto the grey. Jaune gulped. He shouldn't be nervous, after all, they'd kissed! That had to be good, right? Right? Even if she was reluctant to talk to him, he had to start sometime. Well, the blind leading the blind. If they were going to talk, Ruby probably felt better doing while doing what she loved: Fighting.

The clock ticked down slowly from 10, each beep sharpening Jaune's breath, his grip tightening on his sword's hilt, and he slidhis sheild open. Ruby wouldn't hold back, that wasn't the type of person she was. Jaune loved that. And it began with Goodwitch's call, "BEGIN!"

Ruby took off at a speed that was almost untraceable, placing a kick straight into Jaune's stomach, sending him flying back, nearly out of the arena- A ring out, so to speak. Jaune quickly focused some aura on his gut and the pain went away quickly, allowing him to focus again. A neat trick, for sure, but not one he could use repeatedly. Contrary to what many people thought, Jaune did learn, just slowly, but he'd learned enough from fighting faster fighters like Mercury to never hesitate, unlike in fights with people like Cardin, in which planning was always better. Jaune rushed at Ruby, letting her get into a blocking position and falling for the feint. Jaune stopped nearly an inch in front of her, their eyes meeting as he slid under her gaurd. He saw her smile, she was having fun, so Jaune smiled back, a face that said "Sorry about this" but also, "I'm gonna kick your ass."

He hit her side with the pommel of his sword and sent her rolling across the mat. Unfortunately for Jaune, Ruby had years more training than him. While rolling, she quickly pulled herself up and dashed forward, needling her scythe between Jaune's legs, and pulling them out from under him. Thank God for steel ankle braces, Jaune thought, but Ruby wasn't done. She quickly struck at the ground near Jaune's head, going for what was known as a fake K.O, where you attacked near a fatal spot to signify that you won the fight, and adheared to school rules of not killing anyone. Hopefully. As Ruby swung down, Jaune rolled away, kicking Ruby's shin and stopping her for a moment. As he got back to his feet, Ruby was charging again. Barely having time to breath, Jaune slipped under the Scythe's swing, once again thanking God for blunted weapons. Using his sheild to his advantage, he closed it and opened it under Ruby's guard, hoping that its force would stun her. He had no such luck, as Ruby saw it and countered far before Jaune could react. She dodged the sheild and landed another kick in Jaune's stomach. He was able to take it though, and he realized that he couldn't beat her just by trying to be sneakiy and find her weak spots like with Pyrrha. This time it was a show of strength. Physical and Mental. Unfortunately, Jaune didn't have much of the former, and was barely developing the latter. Still, it was the only plan he had. "Hyaaa!" Jaune let a shout out as he brought his sword down, clashing with Ruby's Crescent Rose, sparks flying everywhere. They both jupmed back, and the real fight began. Jaune slashed from every direction, trying to time his cuts, catch her off gaurd. Not only was it not working, but Ruby was using one hand to maneuver her scythe, parrying Jaune's blows one by one. She kept her other hand behind her, but why? Was she mocking him? Would she really be the type of person to do that? It made Jaune a little annoyed, but all the same, egged him on. He had to keep pushing! The slashes came faster and faster, and each one was blocked. Jaune started mixing in his sheild too, smashing down on Ruby. He had to be close, she'd break soon, he knew it. Yet, Ruby was keeping up. Eventually, she got bored of playing defense, and started hitting back. Jaune had to move twice as fast to be able to dodge and parry the immense garden tool. It was completely insane, the speeds she moved at. Jaune felt proud just for keeping up, but he couldn't keep at this for much longer. He had thought Ruby was getting tired, but she was barely sweating, meanwhile Jaune's sword was growing heavy in his hand. As he danced around the arena, he tried to remember his training, with Ozpin, with Pyrrha. This was the first time he'd been able to keep up with someone as amazing as Ruby, and he wasn't going to lose it now! "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH" Jaune shouted loudly as he brought his blade down as hard as he could. Every last ounce of Jaune's force went into it, all the strength he had. The whole reason he'd even tried to get stronger was right in front of him. It was her tears, her feelings that'd pushed him to get stronger, and now that he had this chance, he wasn't going to waste it, not again, he'd prove himself this time, he wouldn't dissappoint the girl who loved him! The noise of Jaune's sword clanging against Ruby's scythe seemed to last eternally, both of them pushing as hard as they could, unwilling to give in to the other, unwilling to lose. Their wills clashed, and they couldn't've been more perfectly matched. Jaune felt something slacken, and before he knew it, Ruby's scythe clattered from her hand, his sword sinking into the ground. He looked up, this was it, his chance! Jaune moved to strike, but before he was able, he noticed. Ruby had only been using one hand. In that moment, all of Jaune's pride seemed to collapse, shatter within him. In that moment, that moment of clashing wills, she'd still only used one hand?! Well, the arrogance would cost her! Jaune brought his sword up into a slash with rage. The sword came up in slow motion, he was so close! Ruby pulled out her other hand as the blade approached her chin. You should've pulled that out earlier, Jaune thought. But why? Why hadn't she? Out of the corner of his eye, Jaune realized. Her hand was a blur. Before he could do anything, she struck. He barely had time to think before everything went black. Semblance. Man, she really is a prodigy. Jaune wish it was the floor he hit. He went flying past the spectators, joined to observe the intense battle between him and Ruby. With a loud slam, Jaune hit the wall, and slid to the floor in a heap.

Jaune woke up in his bed, frazzled and tired. "What the-" He sat up quickly.

He felt a strong hand push him back down, and saw Pyrrha standing over him. "You should rest," she said, "That was quite the battle," she smiled.

"Oh right," Jaune remembered, recoutning his loss in agonizing detail. "She really is a genius."

Pyrrha smiled, "Yes, yes she is."

She looked out the window and Jaune followed suit to see Ruby and Yang having a heated discussion with some upperclassmen. Ruby's face went from annoyed to confused repeatedly. Jaune smiled. "Glad to see I did absolutely nothing to her."

Pyrrha snickered, "Oh it's not that bad. Besides, you're not looking close enough," Pyrrha gestured at Ruby.

"Wha-?" Jaune stared for a bit, trying to figure out what Pyrrha meant, until he saw a bit of white peeking out from under Ruby's sleeve.

"Your aura really is strong, Jaune." Pyrrha said smiling, and seeing the look on his face, she quickly added, "But don't worry!She's fine, just a few days to recover. Unlike you, though. You've got a week to go." She slowly pushed Jaune back into bed.

"Fine, fine! Jeez," Jaune wrapped himself in blankets like a burrito.

Pyrrha laughed, "Much better, now get some rest. I'll be bringing your homework later on. You've been out for two days already."

"Damn, what a kick on that girl," Jaune laughed.

"You're surprisingly cheerful, considering you've got two days of homework to catch up on later."

"It's a gift."

"Must be," Pyrrha giggled, as she stepped toward the door. "Oh, and Jaune,"

"Yeah?"

"She was in here the entire time, until we got her to go to class today."

With that, Pyrrha stepped out of the room. Jaune flopped his burrito-self lazily onto the mattress. That's just... Jaune couldn't think of the right word. Guess she really does, well, love me. It was at that moment that Jaune made yet another resolution, though this one was a bit more daring than any previous ones. Next time I see her, I'll kiss her again.

**Whew, and here we are, at the end of Chapter 5. Sorry for the delay that was finals week + dead week. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter. I had a lot of fun writing the fight scene, listening to AlterNative from Asura Cryin, and I highly recommend reading it while listening to that, it's awesome. Anyways, another big thanks to my trusty editor MeTheAlmightyChickenLord, may he forever catch all my dumb mistakes. And with that, hope to write again soon. Thanks for reading this chapter, and look forward to the next one as well!**


	6. Chapter 6- The Language of Battle

**I always seem to have the longest breaks between my chapters, but I never stop! My excuse this time? I've been busy with moving. Not a good one, I know. Now, I got some PM's saying that If I have a recomended track to listen to while reading this fic, I should state it in the first AN. So If I ever have one, you'll see it up here. I thought it was a cool idea so I'm including it, but if people have major problem with it, PM so I know. Besides that, I'm going through the chapters and seeing some POV and tense errors. ATM my hard drive is packed away with the boxes for the move. I move on the 30th, so at that time, I'll fix those errors, but until then, please put up with me a bit more! .**

**Tracks I listened to while writing (on repeat):**

**Start with the Morning OST from Naruto, and change to the Orchestral version of the Ballad of the Goddess when you see the ****.**

**Enjoy!**

**Morning: watch?v=0apmeUtXbkY**

**Ballad: watch?v=Gvv-taQkDFo**

Jaune carefully flexed his fingers, breathing deeply and concentrating. His aura felt like a light breeze as it enveloped him. He still felt the fatigue from the fight, but the bruises faded easily. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to convince the nurse to release him from medical house arrest. Jaune stood up gently, steadying himself on his feet, thinking back to the fight. Strategy. Both Pyrrha and Ozpin had said that he had keen instincts, but never considered the long term during a fight.

Jaune thought back to the first time he'd fought alongside Ruby and everyone else, back in the Emerald Forest. Back then his strategy had gotten him the spot as JNPR's leader that he treasured deeply. He'd almost forgotten that. Lately, he kept feeling like more of an idiot, rather than the strategist that'd led Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha to victory. Jaune frowned deeply as he looked out the window. First, he looked out at the sky, a cloudy grey, then back down upon the people below. It might rain on them. Sighing, he decided to do his work for that day. Jaune's classes Included Tactical offense 101, History of Remanant, The Politics of being a Hunter, Battle Applications, the Study of Aura, and one free period that was usually spent studying (or playing videogames), unless Goodwitch was hosting a sparring tourney, or a field trip.

Battle Applications and the Study of Aura hardly ever gave assignments, so as Jaune looked over the work that laid in front of him, he only had a Tactical Offense Multiple Choice paper, and a two page paper on Vaccuo left to do. Ren, being the awesome smart-guy, had left Jaune a corrected copy of his paper, which Jaune copied over masterfully, of course, Paraphrasing, so his little plagiarism wouldn't be detected.

Next up was Tactical Offense. Jaune had always had a flair for this class, no matter how much Port thought he was full of hot air, he usually aced the tests and written assignments. Jaune looked over the paper. There were only twenty-five questions, frontand back. Some were rather simple, e.g. "If you're surrounded from the front and the back, would you, to the Left, to Right, , your ground. If you selected D, please explain how you would stand your ground."

The obvious answer is C. Grimm are naturally violent. A Feint would enrage them, cause them to charge forward, and you could then allow them to collide with each other, or flinch. However, Port liked his technicalities, as the enemies had never been stated to be Grimm. In this case, the answer would be either A or B. So he marked that.

These questions normally weren't so complicated, but Jaune was getting a headache anyway. He sighed deeply and rested back down onto his bed, staring at the plaster ceiling. He knew what it was. It was Ruby.

Through their battle, they'd comunicated, and the words they interchanged were unspoken but heard louder than gunshots. Even with these words, though, Jaune didn't know if their relationship was stable again, or if it would ever be stable again. Sometimes he just wished he'd never found out, or that Ruby had never liked him like that to begin with. It was... problematic. These kinds of thoughts had been running through his dreams, only to break that border and invade his day-to-day life as well. Jaune decided to turn his mind back to the Tactical Offense assignment. He marked question after question until he got to number 25. He moved to mark B, but thought about again, and decided for A, but no, that wasn't quite right either. In fact, none of the options made any sense. Were these his only choices? That couldn't be right, because, no matter how hard he thought about it, none of them made any sense. Jaune groaned and stared at the page. He looked hard at A, B, C, and D. They just... didn't fit. By picking any of these, he'd be making the wrong decision. He put the paper down.

"I give up." He muttered.

"Well that's not good," Ren said, walking through the door frame.

"Oh, what's up Ren?"

"Free period right now. Pyrrha and Norra are off doing girl things."

"Girl Things?"

Ren looked at Jaune with an expression that just said, "I don't quite get it either."

Ren continued, "So what're you giving up on?"

"Port's assignment from a few days ago, none of the answers from this question make any sense!"

"Oh, is it number 25?"

Jaune looked surprised, "How did you-"

"No one got that right in the entire class," Ren cut in, "Just put a random answer, it won't bother him."

Jaune looked at the page again. "None of them... are correct?" Jaune muttered.

"It would seem that way," Ren replied.

That couldn't be. Port wouldn't just make everyone in his class lose a point like that. While Jaune kept thinking, Ren took outa textbook and started reading about the Second Great Grimm War. Thoughts crossed Jaune's head continuosly. What could it be? There had to be a correct answer. He felt hopeless and lost all over again.

"Ahhh I hate multiple choice," Jaune complained.

Ren looked at him, eyebrow raised, "Most people like the 1 in 4 chances,"

"If you put the names of team RWBY in a bucket, picked one, and decided to piss that one off, your chances are 1/4 of being yelled at, punched through a tree, frozen, or stabbed."

"Fair enough," Ren conceded. The silence went on for a bit until Ren broke it again. "Hey Jaune?"

He sighed at the interruption from his usually quiet teammate. "Yes Ren?"

"Ever heard of these old puzzle boxes? They're from before Remnant was Remnant. Crazy huh?"

"What's your point?"

Ren frowned. "Just read it, okay?"

Jaune reluctantly took the book from Ren. It read:

These ancient cubes are depicted as being perfectly symmetrical on all sides, except for what looks like random rectangles cut out in it's surface. As archaeologists would eventually determine, those rectangles slid and changed the cube's shape. the small carvings on each side were found to be hints at the order in which each rectangle had to be moved. This is the oldest use of what is now known as a puzzlebox. Once solved, they opened to reveal several ancient treasures, including some ancient dust that hadn't been seen in years, such as Wind Dust. The team only had a few options for this discovery, as their budget was severely limited, however, they were able to concieve a new solution to the problem by instead of using government funding, selling the cubes, minus the most important of the bunch. However, the government did not want such artifacts being sold, so they tripled the budget!

The book had a few pictures. It had two of the cube, and one that depicted one of the archaeologists getting the order wrong, and having the cube snap back to it's original position. Another included the grand opening of the wind dust cube, which had since been replicated but was still very rare. The last picture was of a tall, dark haired individual, smiling with the cube in his hand.

As Jaune looked up from the book, he saw Ren leaving. "Wait," he said, "Why'd you-"

Ren simple tapped his the side of his head, indicating the motion for "Think about it."

"I may have exaggerated when I said we all failed," Ren said with the slightest smile. Then he just walked out.

Jaune stared hard at the page for at least 10 minutes. He poured over every word, staring at each picture in turn. After closing the book, he grinned.

"Yes!" He said in triumph, marking the final question on his homework. "Took me long enough," He said happily, sighing in relief.

Jaune stood up carefully, his balance was still a bit off. He slowly got dressed, putting on his armor and a jacket. Now on his feet, Jaune left the room at a slow pace, careful to check for nursemaids who'd tranquilize him just to get him back to his room. Once he was past the hallways and out the double doors of the dorm, Jaune made his way straight to the second wing. He passed by a few people who asked him if he was okay. He brushed them off with a, "I'm feeling much better, thanks." and kept walking. Finally, Jaune got to Port's classroom, and opened the doors.

Since classes were over Professor Port was drawing a cow on the whiteboard and analyzing a pit-style trap at the same time, when he saw Jaune walk in. "Ah Jaune m'boy!" He said cheerfully, "How're you feeling? Took a good blow right to the noggin' didn't you?"

"Yes sir, I'm feeling better, but I won't be back in class for another few days sir."

Port frowned, "What a shame, but that still begs the question, why're you here then son? You should be resting in your bed!" he said.

"I wanted to give you the assignment I missed, sir."

The Professor's frown flipped as he laughed, "Hard worker, aren't you, m'boy! Well that's excellent, I'll correct it right now!"

Jaune just nodded. As Port checked off his answers, he smiled in a jolly way, not unlike Santa Clause. "Correct...Correct..Correct.." He heard Port mutter. Jaune's success seemed to be making the professor proud. The professor kept happily saying "Correct" until the last answer. "Boy.." Port stopped to ask, "Does this mean what I think it means?"

Jaune peered over and sure enough he was pointing to Jaune's marks on the final question. "Yes sir," he answered, almost a question.

Professor Port stared intently at the page, seemingly thinking about Jaune's answer, until he looked up and bellowed with laughter. "Excellent! Bravo!" He said loudly, "What a solution, Jaune! Not a single person had even thought of that, not even me! Ahahaha!"

Had Jaune not done it the way Ren meant? But then, what did he mean?

"Jaune!" Port said, "You've advanced greatly in the past few weeks! Keep improving, m'boy!"

With a pat on the back, Jaune left the room, punching the air happily. He couldn't wait to tell Pyrrha, maybe even Ozpin, no, he'd already know, but still, it was great! He knew not many people would understand his happiness, but after every moment he'd been protected, every sparring session he'd been beaten, and after so much training, he'd finally done something, something that not even Ruby Rose could do!

In his triumph, Jaune didn't notice this small girl in front of him, who he accidentally knocked over. When he heard the squeakas she fell, he looked down to find himself face to face with the person he thought he loved, and was trying to beat: Ruby Rose.

Ruby looked like she was trying to build up her confidence and say something. That fight had helped them both. "You.. you should going where you watch!" She said, realizing her error a few seocnds later and no doubt screaming internally over it. Jaune stifled a laugh at first, but his face kept getting close to hers. He remembered the resolution he'd had.

The next time I see her, I'm gonna kiss her again.

Jaune wasn't the type to break a promise, especially to himself.

When they pulled apart, his stomach felt light, and his head blurry. Ruby was smiling, but she was also close to crying. ever since their first day at beacon, Ruby'd been the socially awkward friend he was glad to have. She wasn't that good at talking, especially about herself. Jaune bit his lip, hoping he wouldn't regret this. He knew what he had to do. he'd felt it the las time they'd fought. Their connection. The link they shared. Jaune was done only being able to communicate to her through awkward moments and on rare occassions, one of them getting a sentence in. He led Ruby off-campus and into a field not too far away from Beacon. Just within the protection of it's walls, but far enough away so they wouldn't be seen. Jaune took off his jacket and looked at Ruby, she unbuckled her weapons strap and let it slid to the ground. Jaune drew his sword as Ruby unfolded her scythe.

Her eyes were drawn to his bandages, and she was about to speak when Jaune shook his head and opened his shield. This was the language that the two of them shared. In the heart of battle, they could understand each other. Jaune wasn't near the fighter that Ruby was. He hadn't been bred for it, but all the same, it was in his blood. His father, and his father before him had been warriors in the great war.

Jaune stood his ground, knowing his balance wasn't the best it could be at that moment, so he couldn't risk simply dashing forward to attack Ruby, he'd have to wait. Ruby was staring directly at him. This was also a part of the battle. Jaune and Ruby moved in sync, circling each other, albeit Jaune falling behind a bit trying to keep his balance. Ruby took notice, but out of respect, kept going. Jaune, in turn, noticed this, and was thankful. This was the message sent in battle, this was their conversation. Jaune shifted his ankle into the ground. A split second after, Ruby's scythe came flying down from above.

Jaune glanced the blow off his shield, retaliating with a few steady slashes in her direction. Ruby dodged the blow with a graceful backwards somersalt, pushing herself forward as she landed. Jaune dodged the tackle by a hair's length, and tried to hit Ruby with the pommel of his sword as she passed. Ruby's speed was far too great and Jaune missed by a mile. The blade of Ruby's scythe caught Jaune in the chest as she spun around. He felt a bruise grow under his armor, and on his back as he skidded through the grass. As he slid Jaune vaulted off of his hands backwards and managed to keep a solid stance as Ruby's feet came flying toward him.

She hit Jaune's shield dead center, and kicked off, gracefully flipping onto her feet again. Jaune flicked his sword at Ruby, agesture that meant, "Don't hold back, open yourself to me, and give me all you've got!"

Ruby understood this, and she grinned, as did Jaune. Ruby's strikes came in great speed, that Jaune could barely see. Blow after blow, the battle seemed just like the last one. Jaune fed Aura into his arm, to keep up with the fatigue of blocking her attacks. Jaune racked ideas through his mind. They were both team leaders, but she was so much better than him. He was a strategist, so he needed a strategy!

Jaune tucked and rolled out of the way of a sweeping kick, straight under ruby's leg. That's It! He thought. Jaune grabbed Ruby's ankle and pulled, but Ruby was not brough off balance, instead, she let her foot slip out from the shoe. Now she was barefoot on her left side. Jaune tossed the shoe to the side and smirked, glancing at Ruby's feet. She raised him an eyebrow, but he struck again quickly. This time Jaune was on the offensive, but Ruby was still easily dodging and blocking his attacks. Had his plan even worked? A second later, he saw that it had. Jaune attacked in the same exact rythm he'd been keeping throughout the fight, and the pommel of his sword dug into her side, knocking the wind out of her and sending her crashing into the ground. That was it, it was over.

Jaune walked over to Ruby and offered her a hand, which she happily took. The sky cracked with thunder and the rain came down, but the both of them were laughing. Ruby was the first to speak, "So what'd you do?" She said with a laugh.

"What ever could you mean?" Jaune replied coyley.

"Come on, you did something!"

Jaune chuckled and pointed at her left foot, her toes going red from the cold. Ruby just looked at him funny. "What? Got a thing for girl's feet?"

Jaune kept laughing and Ruby became a bit indignant at Jaune, "Come on! Tell me!" She said.

"Ruby... Your shoes, they have a good inch of platform. You were off balance the entire time!"

Ruby looked shocked to discover this. Jaune's strategy had worked. By allowing Ruby to get into a rythm, then subsequently shifting her balance without her noticing, he'd made it so that the minute he switched off rythm, she'd be too slow to block because of her stance. Jaune laughed and smiled, looking straight at Ruby. "I did it!" He cheered, "I beat Ruby Rose, the child prodigy!"

Ruby blushed and started to say something, but Jaune interrupted her. "And you!" He said, "It looks like you can talk to me again!"

Ruby nearly pulled her hood over her head remembering how she'd acted toward Jaune recently. "I'm-"

"It's good to see you again, Miss Ruby Rose," Jaune said, taking her hand in his. "Let's get back to somewhere warm."

As they embraced, Ruby started crying. Jaune understood exactly why, because he was crying too. No matter what they were, lovers or not, they were best friends, and finally, they could talk to each other again. In fact, they realized that they could always talk. In a language no one else really understood. The language of battle.

**Whew, that was a lot of fun to write! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I certainly enjoyed working on it. I tried working on my formatting and hopefully it's getting better. Anyway, I'm trying to predict the future with this one, but I know some people might wonder about the signifigance of the Tactical Offense Assignment. It plays in later so be patient please. Anyway, thanks again, and another big thank you to TheEditorOfFloor500 for editing my many mistakes. See you next time!**


	7. An Interlude, Letter to My Readers

** Hey there Hunters and Huntresses. It's me, Octurn, the writer of Jaune's Time. You'll notice I have this chapter marked as **_**Interlude**_**. Well that's because at the recommendation of my editor, theeditoroffloor500, I've been encouraged to tell my readers what's going on. Jaune's Time has always been a fairly slowly progressing story, although at 7 chapters I can't believe it hasn't even been a years since I started. So first off, No, Jaune's Time isn't ending. It won't be for a good time. I'm in Junior year of Highschool now and with 3 Ap's and an Honors course, I've got my work cut out for me. This is one such reason for such slow updates. However, I will now announce that Jaune's Time is going on Hiatus. I have just recently gone through a very painful experience in the love area. At this moment in time, (having tried) I cannot bring myself to write about love. Which, (Spoiler) the next chapter was going to be about. Now, about Jaune's Time. This project of mine was never supposed to go more than a few chapters. But in that short time, I got an editor, and dozens of followers. I can't just stop now. I'd like to release some information on what I have planned. At the end of the schoolyear (hopefully) I'll be re-releasing all published chapters, longer, with a better format, adding in more details, imagery, metaphor, and emotion that I didn't include because hell, i didn't expect people to like it as much as they tell me. The one remark I always get however, is that I have short chapters. This is because, like I said, I didn't mean to take it this far, so I want to improve them. Now, hopefully you all can forgive me for these misgivings, and the dissapointing feeling of seeing "new chapter" in your inbox, just to be left with this. Thank you all for supporting me, and remember, whether it's a comment, critique, or just saying Hi, I love recieving reviews and messages from you guys. Thanks for everything you've given me, and stick around, I'll be out of my Romantic slump soon, I hope. This is Octurn, signing off.**


	8. Chapter 8- The Correct Answer

**EDIT: WOW That last upload was... interesting. Thanks for everyone who let me know, I appreciate it.**

**Hey Guys! It's Octurn here! Thanks for waiting this long for this chapter. Long Story short I went through a shit spot in the love area, and didn't feel right writing about love. It would've been too hard. Like I said in the interlude I will be re-releasing the chapters, so around June 2016 you might notice Jaune's Time will go from, i dunno, maybe 10 or so chapters, to about 5. I will combining the chapters, as well as adding more stuff onto them. Good luck fixing all my mistakes editoroffloor500. In addition, I got a few messages saying people enjoyed the song recommendations, and they are just recommendations, so once again, thanks for reading and here's what I'm listening to: 1. Twilight Town Extended Edition, and Hello by Tim Buckley, 3. Renegades by X Ambassador**

Jaune woke up that day around 6 am. It had been about a week since his victory over Ruby, and since then, he had recovered rather quickly, even by his own special standards. The room seemed peaceful as he woke up, Nora snoring away, and Pyrrha and Ren quietly sleeping, enjoying the earlier hours as they should. Smiling, Jaune slipped into his regular gear, grabbed his blade, and left for the main tower. It'd been a while since he'd seen Ozpin for one reason or another.

Jaune slipped carefully out of the room, pacing down the hall and out the main door of the dormitory. He felt the piercing embrace of the morning mist, and felt fall in Beacon for the first time. The seasons had finally shown to be moving, and well into October. Making his way through the courtyards, Jaune held his sword tightly, trying to remember what he'd already learned. It had been too long.

The last time they'd met, Ozpin complimented Jaune's improvement, but had been serious in noting that that improvement had been almost purely mental. His raw strength was still lacking. And no matter what, no matter how many plans or tricks he had in his head, Jaune knew, and had known, that he still needed to reach a strength further beyond what he had now.

Jaune reached the front of the looming tower and stepped in bravely, expecting to be attacked from any direction. He wasn't. Then again, the only person in the lonely leather-furnished room was an old receptionist. Jaune was pretty sure he could take her.

As he passed, she asked no questions, although Jaune made an attempt to be courteous. "Afternoon!" He said quietly.

"It's morning."

"You know what they say, 'It's always Dawn som-" and Jaune stopped, awkwardly realizing the inaccuracy of his failed attempt at a joke and coughed to cover it up. "Uh, heh, yeah, good morning."

The receptionist merely aimed her pen upwards and looked away. Moaning internally, Jaune climbed the familiar cast iron-steel steps to the top floor. He could always take the elevator, but... Ozpin's orders. The paintings lining the walls glared at him while he ascended, but there was nothing on his mind but Ozpin. Those silly pictures had once scared him so much but there was nothing they could do to him anymore.

Once Jaune had reached the peak of the steps, he strode confidently into Ozpin office. "I'm here," He said, doing his best to try to sound bold.

Ozpin hardly acknowledged him, swiveling slightly in his chair. After a few incredibly painful minutes, he turned to face Jaune and responded, "It seems you are. I trust you are feeling better than before."

"Yes sir, thank you."

"Mm. I heard about your battle with Miss Rose, .""

"Ah, yes! It was just a friendly spar sir."

"I'm quite sure of it," Ozpin replied, smiling, "I think it's rather brilliant that you were able to best a top student like that, while injured no less."

"Well... I-"

"And Port tells me about something rather interesting... A certain question. "

"Oh the assignment-"

"Quite."

Jaune didn't know what to say, and there was silence for a time, before Ozpin broke it again. He said, "Jaune, I took a look at the paper,". Ozpin smiled a bit. It held a bit of pride, however his face hardly changed, as it hardly ever does.

"Sir?"

"Yes, ?"

"Why did you ever take me on as a trainee?"

"Why, because you asked."

"Is that really it?"

"Mr. Arc, if you insist on knowing, then yes. You are not special. I see the same in you that I see in all the other young Huntsmen at this academy."

Seeing Jaune look slightly downcast, however, Ozpin chuckled and added, "However. This also means I see you as no less Jaune. You hold the same potential as everyone here, even Miss Nikos."

"Sir..."

"So then, why are YOU here?"

"I want to be stronger. I want to be a hero."

"And you are not satisfied with the results?"

"So far it's only a clever trick that's helped me win. It won't work again."

Ozpin nodded knowingly. "Indeed," he said, "Although I am rather partial to strategy myself, a strong hand helps in casting the die."

"So? Can I become stronger in that way too?"

"Jaune. Your talent lies in the strategy of battle. That question you answered in Port's class... It was rather ingenious, the way you did it. Ignoring the convention in that way..."

"But I still technically wasn't right."

"Sometimes there is more to being right than simply getting the right answer."

"Sir."

"You want to be stronger, Jaune? Then I shall say this once more, although I find it irritating to repeat myself."

"Umm, Sir?"

"You hold the same potential as everyone else here. You can do anything they can. No matter how you got here, your history, or the weight you carry, you are a student at Beacon for a reason."

"I want to be stronger."

"Jaune. Pay attention in class. Listen well, and continue your Practice with Miss Nikos. I am ending our, rather short, training here. You've shown improvement Jaune, but I am no teacher. I'm just an old businessman."

"..."

"Don't worry yourself, Jaune, there will be a day when even you could be a legendary huntsman, so long as your drive remains the same. We live in the fortunate and continuous state in which a man's drive can give him wings, or cast him to chains. Never forget that, Jaune."

"Yes sir," Jaune replied slowly. It seemed that his hope of becoming the apprentice of the one of the world's strongest was lost. As he turned his back, he managed to get out the words, "thank you," and then he left, Ozpin sipping coffee and gazing out onto Beacon below.

The first bell rung as Jaune was already in his seat, it was block schedule that day, so Tactical Offense was up first. Port greeted the class heartily that morning, and began his lecture on Grimm migration patterns and striking points. Jaune took notes rather profusely at that point. ...beowolfs move in the spring... ... Often flying Grimm live over areas where they do not need to fight for food... ... Subterranean Grimm are a large threat to walled societies like Vaccuo and Vale...

"Alright class, that's enough of that for now."

Jaune's pen stopped gratefully, almost leaving skid marks on the paper. When he looked up he saw Port dragging over a large chain-metal box, with some senior Huntsmen helping him wheel it over. Jaune had a sinking feeling about whatever was in that box, and he didn't have to wait long to find out as Port began another hearty speech. "My young friends. You've already come so far, and I'm very proud of you all. I think a small examination is in order now!"

Jaune smiled nervously. Port laughed loudly and said, "As I did very early on this year, I will now release another Grimm into your midst. It will be the Job of One of you to defeat it, however you may all attempt this. I will offer no help unless any of you are in immediate and fatal danger. Now, best of luck, this one's a bit more difficult than the other!"

Port dropped his hand and the door to the cage opened. As soon as the steel slid off and hit the ground with a loud CLANG, a shadow burst out from it's containment, and dashed through the class, attempting to reach the doors. Luckily, as it approached the exit way, the two rather burly huntsmen slammed it back into the center of the room. There were many murmurs amongst the class at this. Port responded, "Now students. It is not your place to feel pity for this creature. It feeds on our hatred, and wishes for our demise in its entirety. If he were to leave, he would simply slaughter as many as he could before he escaped." Port finished coldly, unusual for him.

The beast was roughly 7 feet tall on all four legs, and it had the appearance of a Beowolf, but had a long snout and prominent fangs, like sabers. It prowled through the front of the class, eying targets, obviously looking for the weak ones to take care of first, passing by Port and the two guarding Huntsmen by the door. Soon it targeted the students. Professor Port, Along with his position has Tactical Offense teacher, was also the Grimm Studies teacher, so naturally Grimm came up often in this class, however, none of them had even heard of this type of Grimm.

Slowly, everyone began standing, wary of the creatures actions. Jaune and Ruby caught each others eyes before looking around at the rest of their teams. Looking specifically at Nora. Nodding the moment she caught their eyes, she started firing off grenades, followed by a barrage of bullets from Pyrrha and Ruby. This action was to rile the whole classroom, and invigorate the students as they rose to attack as well. The confusion caused by the loud explosions and bullets were scattering the Grimm, although not enough to stop it from knocking back half the class with a swing of its tail. Now Jaune lept from his seat to charge the beast, holding his shield forward to protect him, and just barely deflecting the sheer force of the creature's lashing tail. Holding steady, he continued to deflect the striking blows of the Grimm's lightning-fast tail.

Jaune watched carefully, if there was ever a time for the adrenaline of a teenage boy to fuel the intellect of a madman, it was at that moment. The rush began when he saw the perfect chance to strike. As the long, reaching tail swept over the students' heads, Jaune deftly rolled under it, narrowing in on the nameless beast. Dancing around each student, Jaune eventually came to the point where he stood in front of the creature, drawing its attention. He let out a piercing shout and the creature lowered its head to sync with Jaune's motion, like a cat, preparing to pounce.

Jaune teased it with his sword, and Port raised his blunderbuss, just in case. Not exactly a vote of confidence, but hey, who could blame him? Regardless, the grip on his sword held tight, and the gears in his head turning, he saw his chance.

"Pyrrha! " He called, followed by a quick two-finger motion with his hand, signaling toward the Grimm's left temple. The shots came quickly, in a pair, tipping the monster over, offing his balance. Jaune lanced a grin and pounded his shield with the pommel of his blade, and the ground shook as Nora pounded the mighty Magnhild into the ground, but JNPR held steadfast, as the Grimm tumbled. It wasn't quite done, however, as it fell, it spun with a ferocious whip and blew Jaune across the room, slamming hard into the wall.

Coughing through blood and dust, Jaune shouted, "F- Flower power!" and caught Ren's eye.

The green and black blur launched into the Grimm, landing a heavy steeple kick into its sternum, as it stumbled to the side, right into the swing of Magnhild. As the Grimm flew it caught Nora's back with claws like a razor's edge. She hardly made a noise a she crumpled to the ground. Jaune made a motion go over to her, but he heard Pyrrha call first.

"Jaune, the Grimm!" She yelled as the black mass landed and slid across the broken tile. She drew his eyes to Ren, who had already recovered Nora and taken her out from the center. Jaune nodded, barely turning in time to duck under the claw swipe that rushed toward his face. Jaune swung his sword in a soaring arc, landing a crimson cut on the creature's wrist. Wounded, the Grimm sank back onto its legs, acting defensively. Jaune and Pyrrha held the floor, and Jaune searched the beast for a chance, an opening. They circled. "Damn. Pyrrha," Jaune said tentatively.

"Jaune?" She replied, keeping her eyes trained on the Grimm.

"I don't think there's any opening we can take. I messed up, Pyrrha, that thing's just going to be on higher guard now."

"Jaune, we could still make it if all of us struck in sync, like a siege," Pyrrha suggested, as the monster poked about, testing its boundaries.

Jaune stabbed, pushing the monster back. "I don't know Pyrrha... Even if the class was that coordinated, someone could get hurt in the crossfire. I don't think it's worth the grade."

"We have to try something Jaune!"

"I know, I know! I'm just... thinking!"

Port aimed his gun at the wary Grimm. "Well, it seems the class was simply not prepared for this level of assignment quite yet."

Many of the class groaned. No one like to fail. No one liked to feel, well, useless.

Port caught Jaune's eye, and he said, "Well then, maybe it's just that no one has found the right answer quite yet." Port lowered his blunderbuss and returned to his position.

Jaune waited, and he paused. Port was speaking to him. He knew it. Jaune looked around at the class. All the faces, all the people. He realized, they too, were choices. He checked his mistakes, blunt force didn't do much except stop it. Pyrrha Rifle wasn't enough to even break it's skin, but his own sword cut open the hide like butter. Getting to the hide through that tail and those claws, however, would be easy.

Jaune took a breath, and began. "Ruby!" He called out, and her head snapped to attention. "Take two to the head!" Ruby nodded, and two heavy caliber sniper bullets planted themselves in the creature's head and back, sending it forward. Next the follow up, "Yang!"

"Got it!" Charging the Grimm, Yang threw herself and slammed her fist into the back of the creature's head.

It's head broke through the tile, but it only bought Jaune a few seconds. "Cardin! Your mace!"

"Listen here, if you think I'm taking orders from-"

"Fine! Ren, Blake, suppressing fire!"

Jaune and several others jumped back to avoid the wave of bullets coming in from either side. The Grimm staggered as it was pelted with the artillery. He only had to look at Ruby for her to get what to do next. The connection was there, they had this. The red dynamo blasted in from the side the scythe forming a gallows around the creatures neck. She swung and everyone waited on baited breath... but nothing happened. The edge of the scythe was stopped by the Grimm's near unbreakable claws, foiled by its speed, Ruby was thrown across the floor, barely recovering before she hit Weiss.

It didn't work, but why? What happened, everything was... no. I was too impatient. Jaune though to himself, It wasn't ready yet. Jaune thought back to the puzzle boxes, the inspiration to that question of Port's. I have to everything exactly right. Everything has an order. I just have to get it right, or the whole thing is useless.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha said, "What now? We have to try something else!"

"No, let's do that again."

"What? Jaune-"

"Pyrrha."

She nodded.

"Guys!" He shouted, as they turned their heads, "One more time."

They nodded, each with a bold smile on their face. Jaune was growing up, he deserved to be treated that way for once. Two bullets, a flaming punch that collided with a loud, well, yang, followed by the excellent suppressing fire from the two silent shooters. "Alright," Jaune muttered, stopping Ruby with a hand, "It's all set up."

"Jaune," Pyrrha said, "Can you do this?"

Jaune nodded quietly, "Pyrrha. In a fight, there's no such thing as being ahead or behind your enemy. The real winner is the one that can adapt, change, and move beyond the parallels he believes bind him." He felt a little bad quoting Ozpin as he had said it. But Pyrrha took it well, and it seemed to move her.

The Grimm staggered about, moving slowly into line with Jaune. He waited. "Two... One... NOW!" The beast had it's arms apart by the slightest angle. It had to be Jaune, there was no time to explain his idea to anyone else. He took the risk and dashed between the Grimm's razor-like claws, shield held forward. "Weiss, his feet!"

"On it!" She complied, catching the Grimm in place by freezing its hind legs. Jaune jumped into its chest with all his weight. With nowhere to go, the Grimm Heaved back and fell on it's ass. "Pyrrha!"

The young champion arced her spear at the Grimm, which tried to bat it away, but thanks to Pyrrha's incredible semblance, failed, as her spear went straight through its claw and lanced it to the ground. It flailed wildly with its unimpaired limb, but Blake took care of it quickly with her special ribbons, binding it still. Jaune raised his sword and brought it straight down, cleaving into the beast's forehead, piercing the iconic Grimm maw, and splitting it right through the center.

And in that moment of triumph, victory, and joy, Jaune's world seemed faded and unreal. He hadn't even meant to be the one to kill it. Pyrrha 's spear was supposed to go through its heart while Jaune held it still. "Guys, this..."

Ruby smiled at him from below, "This is something you deserve Jaune, congratulations."

With his friends all around him, praising him. Lauding him. Jaune's heart soared, and he cheered along, of course giving equal praise to his friends, whom without, he couldn't have even touched the Grimm.

Nora walked over on Ren's shoulder. "Nora, how are you feeling?" Jaune asked.

"Oh you know, I'll be okay, nothing to get cut up over!" She gave Yang a quick high five and everyone laughed along. After some congratulating from Port and the elder huntsmen, Jaune, JNPR, and RWBY left to go celebrate, and Jaune almost missed the happy glare coming down from the highest tower.

**Wow that one took a while to get out. I'm really sorry about that guys. I felt like I just needed to push this one and get to work, thanks to my editor and the recent influx of followers I did not wish to disappoint. Thanks for sticking around guys. I highly appreciate it.**


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